


Learning to Live

by HourglassGod



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Asra also is heartbreakingly sweet, Asra is so sweet, Cats are Amazing, Coming back from nothing, Hot magicians, M/M, Multi, SPOILERS AHEAD, You know that Asra would stab someone for You, how to live 101, platonic right now, stop staring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-09
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-07 17:09:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15223850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HourglassGod/pseuds/HourglassGod
Summary: You have no idea what is going on or why. You have to be retaught how to be human. It's a good thing that you have a good teacher and a good interpreter.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There are a ton of spoilers ahead. This is going to be kind of angsty in between slice-of-life bits. Or just plain angsty if you read between the lines or actually know what is going on.

            I stared at the person in front of me. He was making all sorts of noises as he held some sort of object near me. His face was making a bunch of motions as he continued to make noise. His brown face contorted. The white on him shook. He moved away for a moment before he moved closer again and started making the same noises and motions again. It didn’t make sense.

            “He’s trying to get you to eat food.” A voice came from behind the man in front of me.

            My gaze shifted to the left. This man’s colors were reversed. He was mostly white with brown-black. I blinked.

            The man tilted his head, “You need to eat food to survive.”

            Confusion clouded my mind. …survive?

            He let out a small sigh and moved so that he was right behind the other man. “You need to open up your mouth.” He opened his mouth a couple of times.

            I blinked at him again in wonder. How did he do that?

            He looked at me with narrowed eyes. He moved around the other man and moved his hand so that it was barely touching me. He made a movement with his hand and some understanding entered me. I opened my mouth.

            The brown man made a sudden burst of noises as he moved something to the inside of me.

            “Don’t panic.” The white man commanded.

            I felt something be dumped into my mouth.

            The white man hummed and moved his hands. “Now, you close your mouth and…” He moved his hands up and down. “Swallow.”

            My eye widened as something moved down my throat.

            The white man stayed by me and helped me repeat the opening, closing, and swallowing gestures. He then moved back to behind the brown man. “Good job. Now, you are going to try to do it on your own.”

            I blinked. It was harder to do without his hands guiding the feeling, but after a longer period of time, I was able to do the motions myself. I felt… strange.

            “You should stop now. Close your mouth.” The white man spoke.

            I shut my mouth obediently. I was confused.

            The white man tapped at his lips with his fingers, “You aren’t used to eating food. Eating too much would cause your body to reject it. You should start out with small amounts and then move to eating more.”

            I blinked. Some part of me thought that made sense.

            The brown man made some more noise before moving away. Not far though.

            The white man gave me a smile and came closer to brush a hand lightly against my cheek.

            There were a lot of colors when I looked at him again. Bright colors. Bright colors for the white man.

            He let out a snort, “I like how you are calling us white man and brown man in your mind. The man who is currently worrying himself behind you is named Asra.”

            I blinked. As…ra?

            He smiled and repeated the name again and again until I was able to understand it. Asra.

            He moved out of the way as the brown man came back and started to touch me with something. “His name sounds good in your mind. Don’t worry about him. He won’t do anything to hurt you. As of right now, he is your reliable protector. He’s cleaning you up and making sure you… are you.” He let out a strangely elongated snort. “You can’t really be expected to understand the concept of surviving or living. We’ll work on that later. One small step at a time.”

            I blinked as Asra lifted me and moved me. My limbs were jerky as I followed him with the white man’s guidance. Asra sat me down on something soft and started fussing with other things.

            “He’s getting you changed into your sleeping clothes. You are on a bed. It’s where people sleep. I think you’ll enjoy sleeping. It should feel more familiar to you.” The white man casually chatted. “It can be a very peaceful thing. It will be for you,” he insisted. “I’ll stay by your side and make sure that any dream you have is a pleasant one. Don’t worry. Between Asra and I, you shouldn’t have to suffer much. You shouldn’t have to suffer any more than you have and you will.”

            Asra moved me around and put something on me as he stayed close by my side.

            The white man put a hand over face, “Close your eyes now. Your brain will sooth itself to sleep. Rest gently now.”

            The world was dark now. I still had confusion. Specific confusion.

            “A name? Hmm… Names aren’t that important to me. I go by several depending on the person. For you… that name would be too complicated. A simple name. Kind of like Asra’s name…. Ah. This should be easy for you to remember. Nico. My name is Nico.”

            Nico… my mind went fuzzy.

            “Rest easy, Skylar. Asra and I won’t let anything bad touch you.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bath time!

            Asra was making noises again as he moved me to an area that was secluded from the rest of the room. I blinked as we approached a large bowl. Asra started to remove pieces of clothing from my body. I blinked.

            “It’s called a tub,” Nico remarked as he stared at it. He let out a hum. “Most people would just have a bucket and wash off with a cloth or something. This tub is basically a small sized bath. You get clean in here. And you need to be cleaned. It’s not really your fault that you don’t really remember how to go to the bathroom. The water in here looks like its been warmed up. How thoughtful.”

            Asra started moving me to the tub. He helped me step into the tub and… I started to thrash. I was surrounded by warmth everywhere. Completely surrounded. I jerked my limbs around. I made a noise as I tried to escape. I had to get out. It was too warm I was surrounded. It was going to eat me!

            A finger pressed onto my forehead and calmness washed over me. My eyes were open as I shivered.

            Asra was dabbing at his nose with a sleeve. Red was coming from his nose. And his face was more colorful. He was also looking at me with wide eyes while making soft noises. I blinked as water started running from his eyes.

            “Oh _dear._ ” Nico clicked his tongue. “Now that I think of it, surrounding you in something _hot_ probably wasn’t the best idea. Both you and Asra really don’t associate good things with that right now.”

            I blinked and continued to shiver as Asra wiped at his colorful face.

            “Thank small mercies for the human body’s ability to go into shock. It’s calmed you down slightly right now. Although, you did manage to injure Asra.” Nico tapped at his lips. “It will probably take some time before he calms himself down enough to wash you. I think I understand why animals freak out about being bathed now. I guess that I’ll have to entertain you.” He paused. “I think I’ll hum you some songs. It should also calm you down and get you more comfortable with the water. Don’t worry. The water won’t harm you.” With that, he started to hum.

            His tone went up and down. He hummed short notes and long ones. He tapped on his knee to add more sound to what he was doing. It was a sound. A bunch of sounds. Different than the noise that Asra made. It was… nice. I liked it. I was a little bit sad when Nico stopped humming.

            “Ah. Looks like your bath is finished.” Nico commented.

            I blinked as Asra helped me out of the water while making soft noises. He picked up something but didn’t put it on me. He started touching me with it.

            “It’s called a towel. He is using it to dry you off. To get rid of any water on you. That way you don’t get your clothes wet.” Nico moved behind Asra with ease. He looked me up and down. “I don’t know if Asra has this in mind, but I am definitely going to have to teach you how to use the bathroom. Probably just the rudimentary sitting stuff. I don’t think your fine motor skills would be able to aim well.”

            I blinked in confusion.

            He looked at me and sighed. “I can probably use Asra to demonstrate what I am talking about later.” He let out a laugh. “Good lord. That man is a saint though.” Nico stepped out of the way as Asra led me out of the sectioned off area of the house. “I think the plan is to get some more food into your stomach. There’ll be plenty of time to teach you other stuff later.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An outing and stares.

            It felt like water was being poured over me as Asra touched his hands to me briefly. I squinted in confusion.

            Asra made some noises with some hand gestures as he smiled at me.

            I looked behind him at Nico.

            Nico was looking at me with interest. “He used some magic on you to give you a different appearance. It isn’t permanent. It’s called a glamour.”

            I blinked. Why?

            Nico scratched at the back of his head and let out a breath of air. “Well… You see, Asra needs to get some more supplies so that the both of you can survive. He could go out by himself, but he doesn’t want you to be out of his sight. So, he is taking you with.”

            I stared at the black-haired man for a couple of moments.

            He stared back at me. “Also, he is changing your appearance so people don’t stare at you so much. Though they are going to continue to stare at you. Asra is basically leading you around like a little doll right now. You are largely reliant on him to keep you alive.”

            Asra took my hand in his own and started making some soft but broken up noises.

            Nico frowned. “He’s just letting you know that everything is going to be alright. He’ll protect you from anything. He’s also warning you about the large majority of people out there. Although he is trying to convince you and himself that he isn’t nervous.” He scoffed. “His hands are shaking so badly right now.”

            I blinked. Asra’s hands were shaking. What was he nervous about? I could only look at Asra and try to communicate the question with my eyes. He didn’t seem to notice it because he swiftly let us out of the apartment.

            “Technically, this is your home _and_ a shop. It’s a shop for magic things. You used to be able to do magic like Asra does. Though you were much better at it than he is.” He barely managed to get out of the door before Asra shut it and started to run his hands over the door. “He’s activating some enchantments that will keep the shop safe while we’re out.”

            I gave a small nod. Then we were out on the streets. Nico was pretty silent as we walked through the streets. He would occasionally point at things and tell me what they were. As we moved farther away from the shop there were more people about. Soon there was a swarm of them. They were all staring at me. I clung to Asra’s arm to try and get away from their gazes.

            Asra turned to me and made some soft noises as placed a hand over my own. He rubbed my hands as a clung to him. I didn’t like the way that the people around us were staring at me.

            Nico made a noise of displeasure, and my eyes moved to his form. He glared back at the people who stared. I started to relax as their gazes swiftly moved away from me. “Stupid idiots…” Nico muttered. He gave me a smile, “Since we are out and about, I might as well start explaining what things are to you.” He started pointing at various objects and described what they were to me. His hands moved around as he spoke, occasionally glaring at the people around us.

            I slowly started to relax and look around at things with interest. Nico smiled as he continued to explain things to me or pointed out various buildings. We were going through one area when a pleasant smell hit my nose. It seemed familiar.

            Asra smiled back at me and made some noises although his body was tense.

            “It’s a bakery. At least, that’s what I think it is. They make bread there. Your favorite bread. It looks like Asra isn’t going to stop there to eat today, but maybe on another trip—oh, hello!”

            I blinked as a man approached us from the shop with a basket. He looked at me with a kind smile and then turned to Asra and started to make some noises. Asra replied back and they continued to make noises at each other.

            “They’re speaking with each other. Pleasantries and the like. You don’t understand them, but they aren’t making random noises. They are speaking a language. I’ll have to teach you more about it. It would be more than helpful if you could understand what Asra is saying to you. Perhaps later tonight.”

            I nodded slightly.

            The tall man gave Asra the basket and me another smile before he moved back to the shop he came from. I started to become tired and Nico’s words started to make less and less sense to me. I blinked and the next thing I knew I was back in the bed in the apartment. I snuggled into the blankets and sank into the darkness.

            “Pleasant dreams, Skylar.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a big beautiful lake with a desk in the center of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, did you know that you can roll your hands? It's like rolling your eyes, but with, you know, your hands. No? Good. Because it didn't make much sense when I wrote it myself.

            I blinked in awe at the sight in front of me. There was a massive lake in front of me with glowing waters of light blue and white. The area was surrounded by tall mountains that swirled with browns, blacks, and greens. I looked up at the sky and had to pause. The sky was painted full of colors and stars. Light twinkled from above even though it was night. The colors moved around and flickered in a peaceful rhythm. I lost track of time as I studied the constellations that painted the sky. Eventually, I broke my gaze and looked back at the lake. There was something different. A smudge in the middle of it.

            I moved towards it, my feet making ripples on top of the water. As I grew closure I could make out that it was a large desk piled with papers and books. Behind the desk was Nico who was rubbing his face as he wrote on papers and moved them around the desk. He was muttering stuff and glaring at some of the papers. I sat down in one of the chairs that was across the desk from him. I waited for him to notice me. I blinked when something touched my legs. I looked down to see a small black kitten rubbing against me. I reached down and picked the kitten up and started petting him.

            I flicked my eyes up to Nico and decided to break the silence, “Hello, Nico.”

            He startled and almost knocked a large stack of papers into the water, “Holy shit! No! Don’t you fucking dare go into the water!” He righted the stack of papers and looked back at me. “Hello!”

            I let out a small laugh as I continued to pet the purring kitten. “Weren’t you so focused!”

            His face flooded with red, “I just wasn’t expecting you here.”

            “Uh-huh.” I studied his face as he looked up at the sky with exasperation.

            His eye flicked back to me and hummed in interest, “Ah! It seems like Meph has taken a liking to you. I’m not really surprised. You are quite charming.” He gave me a soft smile.

            I felt myself blushing and my hand stilled.

            Meph meowed and swatted at my hand.

            I shook my head and continued to pet the black cat. “This is quite the set up here.”

            Nico leaned back in his chair, “You should see the library.”

            My eyes widened, “You have a library?”

            He gave me an amused look. “It’s big. Perhaps another night I can show it to you. Right now, I remember promising to teach you how to understand what Asra is saying.”

            “What language is he speaking?” I inquired.

            Nico steepled his hands, “He’s speaking in Vesuvian. It’s a trade language and the language of the area you live in. Actually, we are speaking in it right now.”

            That surprised me. “If I can understand what you are speaking, why can’t I understand what Asra is saying?”

            Nico rubbed at his temple. “It’s mostly because your ears aren’t used to understanding it. If you have noticed, in the waking world, we can speak, but you aren’t actually speaking anything.”

            That was something that I had noticed.

            Nico waved a hand and continued, “I am effectively… reading your thoughts?” He let out a huff of air. “Reading your thoughts is as good as anything for a descriptor. Familiars can communicate with their masters in a way that is quite similar to the way that we communicate in the waking world. It makes it easier for you to understand me. I am actually going to be teaching you a lot of words tonight. Once we wake up, I will be pointing some of them out when Asra speaks. Hopefully, that way you can start to understand him.”

            “Why is it so important that I understand Asra?” Nico was doing a good job of letting me know what was going on in the world around me.

            He let out frown and sigh. “Because I am not going to always be right there beside you two.”

            “Why?”

            He gave me an amused smile, “Because a lot of people aren’t very fond of me. You could even say that they hate me.”

            “Why would they hate you?”

            He tapped a finger against the desk, “Because I did, and do, the things that are necessary for the world to move on. For the better good of humanity and the city. I… effectively took away something that they liked even though it was… bad for them. So, they hate and fear me. You noticed the way my glares made them look away from us, yes?”

            I nodded.

            He mimicked my movement, “Yes. Most people find it hard to look in my direction because of how dangerous they perceive me to be.” He let out a sad sigh. “It’s not like I’m going to come after them and hunt them down… but they still don’t like me.”

            I stood up and moved around the table.

            Nico looked up at me with surprised.

            I cradled Meph in one arm as I gave Nico a hug. “Hey. I like you.”

            He smiled into my neck and ruffled my hair, “That’s because you are strange. And you are much more used to me than they are. And you have a big heart.”

            I rubbed at his shoulder, “Maybe if you got closer to them?”

            He let out a rueful chuckle. “Please. They won’t let me get that close. Most of them anyways. I am going to leave the city sooner or later. So, I want to make the most out of the time I have with you… and Asra.” He leaned away from the hug. There was a strange look on his face that was quickly hidden by a smirk, “Now! Let’s get you able to understand what that hot magician friend of yours is saying!”

            I rolled my eyes at him and pulled a chair up to sit beside him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asra makes words not noises! Incredible!

            Learning went a lot faster when we were at the lake. In the shop, everything seemed much more difficult. I could hold a decent conversation with Nico at the lake, but here I was limited to noises in the back of my throat. It was… distressing to not have any freedom of movement. I just wished that I could voice my thoughts to Asra.

            “You can’t really help it.” Nico’s eyes didn’t leave the book he was making marks in. “Your tongue isn’t used to moving. It’s like trying to speak a language that's an entirely different language. But,” he lifted a finger up, “It is composed entirely of consonants and vowels that you have never heard or made with your mouth before.” He started to make a bunch of complex clicking noises. “Do you understand anything of what I just said?”

            I shook my head slightly.

            “If we were by the lake, do you think you could perfectly recreate everything I just said?”

            Of course not. The clicking had happened so fast. The way his tongue must have been moving.

            He let out a chuckle and raised his gaze to mine, “Wow. That wasn’t something I thought you would think.” He gave me a wide grin. “At least so soon.”

            I felt my face heat up.

            Asra entered the room and gave me a worried look, “Are you alright, Skylar?”

            Thanks to a week or so of instruction on Nico’s part, I could now understand a lot of what Asra was saying. Most of it was the same. How are you doing? Open up your mouth? It’s bath time, Skylar! Is it too hot? So on and so forth.

            It was irritating to not be able to reply that yes I was fine. Or even just to let him know that the soup he made was delicious. I couldn’t even thank him. I could cling to him, but my facial muscles refused to move in the way I wanted them to.

            I was resigned to make some sort of noise in the back of my throat that I hoped he would understand. My eyes did brighten when I saw him pulling out a book.

            It was something that had only happened recently, but Asra had been teaching me things about plants. More specifically their healing purposes or magical properties. It was during this time when I understood him the least. He used words that Nico hadn’t gone over. Either Nico would try to quickly explain what a word meant or he would let me try to figure out the meaning myself. Sometimes Asra would catch the lost look on my face and explain what something meant in smaller words. Sometimes, it still didn’t make sense. I lost track of time while Asra was talking. Occasionally, I would stop listening and just focus on his face. The way his lips moved. Smiling, frowning. His eyes would focus on me before darting away with a look of… pain.

            I often wondered what caused him to look at me like that. Nico wasn’t much help in that department.

            “How the fuck am I supposed to know what Asra is thinking,” Nico muttered as he scribbled fiercely in his book. “I can catch most of your thoughts. But Asra is just one big aggravating mystery.”

            Asra’s eyebrow twitched.

            “A hot mystery, but even I wonder what the hell goes on in that pretty little head of his.”

            Asra cleared his throat and reached for a cup of tea that he sipped before continuing.

            Nico remained silent for the rest of the time Asra was reading. He remained downstairs as Asra brought me back upstairs. It was the same bedtime routine that I was used to by now.

            I zoned off until Asra climbed into the bed beside me. Most nights I would drift off first, but I felt restless tonight for some reason. I stared at Asra’s face as it slowly went slack with sleep. His white hair looked so soft. I wanted to reach out and touch it, but my limbs felt heavy. I settled for watching the small puffs of air coming from his mouth move his hair. My eyes lifted when I heard Nico enter the room.

            He was writing in a different book now as he quietly moved around the room.

            He was pacing around the room. I waited for him to stop, but he didn’t. Why didn’t he crawl into bed with us and sleep?

            His voice was a soft whisper, “Because I don’t need sleep. Not like you and Asra do.”

            That sounded like a stupid excuse.

            “It’s not an excuse! It’s the truth!”

            A really stupid excuse.

            He gave me an unimpressed stare.

            I stared back at him.

            He continued to stare at me.

            Get in the bed.

            He squinted and moved… toward the wall. He leaned up against it and closed the book he was holding. “I’ll rest soon. Go to sleep.”

            Get in the fucking bed.

            His eyes crinkled with amusement. “You are so lucky that Asra can’t hear you.”

            I don’t care. Get in the fucking bed.

            His lips quirked up and he started to hum a soft tune.

            The tune seemed familiar to me. Like a memory I had forgotten. It was tempting the edges of my mind, but I couldn’t quite reach it. I closed my eyes and focused on the humming. Where had I heard it before? Where had I heard it… I heard it… where? I… he’s humming… to make me… fall asleep… clever… ass…

            “Just go to sleep already. I’ll be back in a couple days. Asra will take care of you. Good night, Skylar.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How to kill 101

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hm. I realize that I suck at summarizing. I also can't really come up with any good chapter titles, so... I'll just continue to be boring and let my work talk for me.

            Time passed. Nico left. Nico came back. Asra would take me out into town, often with an appearance that wasn’t mine. The stares were worse when he didn’t change my appearance. I didn’t enjoy those walks. Except for the baker. The baker made the most delicious pumpkin bread. I enjoyed eating it with Asra’s help. I also enjoyed seeing Asra eat it. He smiled more when we were eating pumpkin bread. It was pretty. He was pretty. But not as pretty as the forest. Asra had started taking me out into the forest with him. He would pick all sorts of things in the forest. I could now recognize most of them as food. And a couple other things as magical supplies…

            He had opened up the magic shop again. We needed the money. It was interesting to have him teach me more about magic now. I couldn’t quite speak yet, but I could make more movements with my arms. I couldn’t write anything, but Asra and Nico were both teaching me to read. I didn’t mind reading. I could flip pages of some of the books Asra would let me read. I would often read and listen while Asra went about business. Asra’s eyes frequently searched back to the cushioned nest-like seat he set up for me. It was reassuring to me because most of the time…

            They stared at me. People who came into the shop. Their eyes would be drawn to me and they would stare until Asra prompted them. Even then, their eyes moved to my form. I didn’t like the way they looked at me. There was just something discomforting in the way they did it. There wasn’t the same care in their eyes that was in Asra, Nico, or the baker’s eyes. There was interest, but I didn’t think it was a good sort of interest. It made my hair stand on end whenever a customer entered the room.

            Nico made a noise of displeasure from the opposite corner of the shop he was leaning in. He was holding a small book in his hand, but his attention was on the customer whose eyes were drifting to me for the fifth time. He closed his book and slipped it into his coat. “I am going to teach you something, Sky.”

            I tilted my head.

            He walked behind the person who as far as I could tell didn’t notice his presence. The person just shifted somewhat uncomfortably as their eyes flicked around the room.

            “Skylar~” Nico’s voice called back my attention. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife. “If any of them ever approach you with ill intent, I want you to know how to protect yourself.”

            I blinked. Protect myself how?

            He looked into my eyes with an unusual level of gravity. “If they mean you harm, _kill them._ I don’t care who they are. Your life is more important than any life that tries to harm you.” He gestured to the customer’s side chest area. “You can shove a knife this size in between ribs and do a lot of damage that will cause most people to die from if they can’t reach a doctor soon enough. Understand?”

            I gave a small nod when the person wasn’t looking at me.

            Nico nodded firmly and brought his hand up to hover near the customer’s neck. He made a gesture, “Here and here are very important arteries. If you slash at them, the person will quickly bleed out and die. If you can, I would suggest trying to aim for them if possible. Try to hide the fact that you have the knife with some sort of slapping or distracting motion. Head wounds and injuries are the most devastating. If they somehow manage to get the knife away from you, you can slap their ears or the sides of their necks to stun them.” Nico continued to meticulously teach me how to take a person down with his hands hovering over different parts customer's body.

            It was funny to see the customer run out of the shop after getting what they needed with a confused look on their face.

            Asra’s attention was pulled to a new customer entering, and Nico moved to the wall near me. I mentally parroted back what he had taught me with him correcting me every now and again. His knowledge of the human body was truly astounding.

            “I know how to patch most people up and heal them. I also know how to swiftly kill them. Years of experience. I’m just giving you a couple tips and tricks to help you survive. One can never be too prepared.”

            I wanted to learn more, but he deflected any questions. It made me wonder who he was before he was here helping me out. Why did everyone seem to fear him so much even when at the same time they couldn’t even see him? It was a question I wanted to know almost as much as where he went when he wasn’t with Asra and I at the shop.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dancing and shadows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was mainly listening to music by the Celtic Woman while writing this: "Tir na nOg," "Teir Abhaile Riu," and the like. Also, "Cartouche" by Blackmore's Night. Vibrant songs those are. I am also curious. How many of my readers know or at least have a guess at who "Nico" is? I'd been interested to hear your thoughts.

            My eye lit up in awe at the area in front of me. There was a giant bonfire in a large clearing between the woods and the lake. All sorts of food were being roasted. My tongue watered at the aroma surrounding me. There were a bunch of people gathered around and in the woods with smaller fires. There was even a group of people playing music on a variety of instruments. The beat of the drums was energetic alongside the string instruments. There were groups of people dancing to the cheery music, and my heart throbbed with happiness. I was sitting on a large wooden log, tapping my feet to the music.

            Asra was looking around us with wonder, “Now this is quite a party! I don’t think I’ve heard music like this before… Actually, maybe I have heard it before. It seems familiar. Maybe a place I visited a while ago?” A puzzled look entered his eyes.

            “I like it! Just look at them dancing!” I gestured to the people dancing around the fire clapping as the twisted around each other. One of them with short dark-red hair shot me a grin while clapping. I grinned and started to clap along with the music. I laughed in joy.

            “It’s beautiful,” Asra finally spoke.

            When I turned to look at him, I saw that he was staring at me instead of the dancing.

            “Why _are_ you sitting on a log when you so obviously want to dance?”

            I stumbled when hands pulled me up and collapsed onto a chest. I looked up in faint surprise.

            Nico snorted and raised an eyebrow and twirled me near the rest of the dancers before reaching and hand out to pull Asra to his feet, “Stop being a bore Asra and dance with us!”

            At his words, a new energetic song started. Voices rose with the drums and tambourines were shook. Strings quickly joined in as people started to clap.

            My attention was torn from the music as Nico started twirling around with me. It was easy to move with him. When he moved back I moved forward. We twisted around each other. Nico smoothly sent me into Asra’s familiar arms. Asra looked a bit surprised but he started to dance with me quickly as the music picked up the pace. Strange bagged reed pipes started to play. Nico clapped his hands quickly as Asra and I spun around. When we neared Nico, I pulled the man towards us. Together the three of us danced around each other. I laughed as we all started to clap our hands to the music as we kicked our feet and rotated in a circle. Asra looked at me with enough love to sent my heart flying. Nico’s eyes were crinkled as a big smile split his face. It was perfect.

            The music changed and we danced together through songs of varying paces. My feet didn’t even feel tired when we moved away from the dancing crowd to pick up plates of delicious food. It was exquisite. There was a variety of foods from around Vesuvia along with foreign dishes that I had to try. Nico offered Asra and I food from his plate. Soon we were holding out pieces of food for the others to eat with our utensils. Jokes were plenty. Nico started to tell stories as he waved his hands around wildly. His stories seemed outlandish, but he insisted that they were true. At some point, bottles were passed around for us to drink from. We traded stories and opinions. Touches between each other became more frequent. The party must have been going on for several hours at that point when I started to feel a little bit tired. I covered a yawn with my mouth and looked over at Asra. He was blinking his eyes sleepily as well.

            “You two should go to sleep,” Nico proclaimed with amusement.

            “We’re not—” A yawn cut off Asra’s sentence.

            Nico smiled softly at us. He leaned forward and caressed Asra’s face before pressing a kiss to his forehead. “You shouldn’t try to always put so much burden upon yourself, Asra.” Nico chided lightly as he briefly brushed his lips against Asra’s.

            Asra’s let out a sigh of air.

            Nico turned to me and took my head between his two hands. A look of sorrow briefly passed over his face as he looked at me. He rested his forehead against my own. “You need to take care of yourself as well. Don’t be afraid of change and learning new things.” His eyes were full of sweet affection and love as he looked at me for a long moment. He pressed his lips to mine. My eyes fluttered for a moment before closing. The sensation I was feeling was warm. Soft. Cool. Familiar. And sweet. Peaceful.

            I blinked open my eyes after the feeling faded away. I blinked for a moment in confusion before I recognized the ceiling above our bed in the shop. It was a dream then. A good dream though. Nico had been gone for more than a week, and I missed him. I looked at Asra’s side of the bed and noticed that it was empty. I slowly sat up and looked around. Asra was in the kitchen making breakfast. My stomach growled demandingly. I flushed as Asra looked over with surprise.

            “It’ll be ready in just one moment, Skylar.” He looked back to the fire.

            I shakily stood on my own and walked over to the little table with more strength than I had felt in a long while. I even managed to pull a seat away from the table to sit down in without shaking or becoming too winded.

            Asra looked at me with surprised before he gave me a smile. “Amazing!”

            My face heated up at the praise. I looked away from him as he started to put the food on plates.

            He set the plates down, “You’re doing so much better!”

            My mouth moved on its own, “Asra! Stop it. You’re embarrassing me!”

            His eyes widened dramatically.

            I blinked before my eyes widened as well.

            “You just spoke!” Asra leaped up and took my hands in his own.

            “I did,” I stated with some pride.

            He bit his lip before he searched my face, “Do you remember?”

            “Remember?” I tilted my head in confusion.

            “Us? Before? I’ve been wanting to tell you but I wasn’t sure if you were strong enough or would understand me.” Asra rambled a little bit.

            I looked at him fondly, “Well, I do understand you. Tell me. What is it?”

            “I—” he cut off as tears rose to his eyes.

            “Asra?” I squeezed his hands in worry.

            He cleared his throat and blinked away tears, “Skylar. I love you. I would do anything for you. I… You were dead. I had to bring you back to life… I… understand…”

            His words started to float around my head as pain gripped my chest. I lost sensation in my hands. The edges of my vision blurred and dimmed. In some corner of my brain, I was aware that I had fallen off of the chair. The pain. It was excruciating. Everything burned. My chest seemed to be the center for the massive burning pain that was consuming me. My teeth clenched as I cried out in pain. My visions swam as I saw Asra looking at me with shock. The pain intensified as he cradled my head in his hands.

            His mouth moved. “…Sky…. Ar… For…. Forget!”

            My mind became fuzzy.

            My head jerked up from my shoulder. I was resting in my nest-like seat while Asra was dealing with customers. My tongue felt heavy in my mouth. Right. Nico had just left again. My heart ached for a moment before soothing itself. I stared at the door. I wondered when he would come back. I closed my eyes and drifted back to sleep.

            Weariness draped over me more heavily than I ever remembered it being. Walking was a chore that I could hardly accomplish. Time seemed to blur between sleep and meals. There were some scenes that passed between my eyes. Tastes. Soup. Smells. Myrrh. Soap. The bed. Lethargy made my mind numb. I felt like I was sick or something. I didn’t know how much time had passed before I regained some energy to go out with Asra to the baker for some bread before returning to the shop. Asra started putting things in the back room as I relaxed in my chair. My eyes drifted closed. For a moment, I drifted between the realms of consciousness and unconsciousness.

            “Don’t you look adorable.”

            I blinked my eyes open to see Nico staring down at me with a smile. A bag was thrown over his shoulder. Happiness filled my heart. Where had he been!

            He looked at me with some amusement, “Travelling. Safety reasons, you know. Though, I am glad that you missed me.”

            Like I wouldn’t miss him. I couldn’t exactly hold a conversation with Asra right now. I hadn’t even had the energy to read any books or scrolls. He made things interesting.

            He looked at me fondly, his mouth twitching at its edges, “I missed you, too. A month away was too long for my tastes.” He looked away for a moment like his own words surprised him. He covered his surprise with a grin, “You will not _believe_ the stories I have to tell from when I was gone!”

            My eyes focused on him as he entered into a vibrant tale. I was happy like this, but… But. Something felt… off. Missing. My eyes drifted from his form as I tried to think of what I would be missing. My chest throbbed but I was quickly distracted by Nico almost knocking over a potted plant on the counter. I snorted in laughter and focused on him again while teasing him in my mind.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skylar is introduced to the tarot cards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be a short one. There is a follow-up chapter for it on the way.

            Asra had begun doing a tarot reading for customers. I would watch on silently as he went through various customers with his cards. It was strange to see the customers focus more on the cards than me. However, I wasn’t too surprised. There was something about the cards that… drew me. When I touched them, I felt tingles run through my hand. There was something special about the cards. Asra must have seen my inquisitive look because he explained that he painted the cards himself. He started to explain the meanings and how he went about giving a reading. He mentioned clearing his head and how it also helped in stressful situations. Then he went about explaining the whispers he got from the cards. That interested me.

            He let me examine the cards and coached me through a couple of readings. Sometimes I heard the voices from the cards. Most of the time I didn’t. As the weeks went on, I was able to hear voices from the cards more and more. It became soothing to lay out the cards for a reading. Asra seemed to appreciate that I was willing to learn about magic. He liked to sit with me and let me practice. It was what we had been doing until he had to get up to make dinner. I was flipping over all of the cards and running my hand over them listening to their individual voices. My hands trailed from one to the next stopping at the Death card. Nothing. Again. I let out a sigh.

            “You know, I can understand some of the symbolism behind most of these cards,” Nico started as he stared at the cards from behind me, “but I never really understood _that_ card.” He pointed at the Death card and snorted, “It’s a horse skull. What do horses have to do with death?” He waved his hands, “Yes, yes. There are tales of death riding around on a horse, but a horse isn’t very… symbolic.” He crossed his arms, “You got clever, curious foxes for the Magician. You have wise, intuitive owls for the High Priestess. And for Death? A fucking horse. If the Death card is all about change, then why isn’t it… I don’t know! A butterfly! Something that continually goes through changes, instead of…” he gestured at the card again. “A horse.”

            He was right that it didn’t make sense but it was odd that he had such a large reaction to the card. Did he not like death?

            He gave a derisive snort, “ _Please_. I have experienced death around me enough to not have that large of a reaction to it.” He grew quiet.

            I raised an eyebrow at him.

            He shifted, coughed, and looked away. “I just don’t like horses.”

            I stifled a laugh with my hand.

            He gave me a glare as his face colored red. “Shut it, Skylar.”

            I gave him a cheeky grin as I ran my hand over the remaining cards.

            Nico muttered something about business to attend to before he quickly exited the shop.

            Dinner was a quiet affair. The rest of the evening was quiet even as Asra and I headed to bed. I felt restless. I focused on my breathing like Asra had taught me but nothing was working. I sat up in bed and waited for Nico to return. I was starting to grow concerned as the time went on. What if something happened to him? My brain ran through all sorts of horrible scenarios. I hardly even noticed as I closed my eyes still worried about Nico. Some part of me hoped that he was alright. Some part of me _needed_ him to be alright.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skylar watches a confusing scene.

            I didn’t recognize where I was at. I could recognize that it was some sort of ballroom, but I didn’t know where the ballroom was. I was also hiding behind a large stone column. I could have moved, but something whispered for me to stay where I was. I soon heard voices approaching. They were speaking in a language I didn’t know before the switched to Vesuvian. I peered carefully around the corner to see Nico talking with a man with dark red hair. Their words were muffled from the distance and none of the words I was able to strain my eyes to hear made much sense. The stranger appeared to be trying to convince Nico of something.

            “Ilya—!” the stranger shouted at Nico.

            “No!” Nico snarled.

            I was taken aback by the venom in Nico’s tone. He usually spoke so gently or comically.

            The stranger also seemed taken aback. He made some sputtering noises before he started again, “Nikolai—”

            Nico cut him off with a raised hand, “Richard. Stop.” He sighed and pinched his nose with his long fingers. “We all have our own paths. There is nothing that I can do in this case. The Devorak family is full of stubborn headed people who make bad choices. Just try to deny it.” He gave Richard a level look.

            Richard glanced away.

            Nico sat down on a bench that was near a large wooden object. He had a defeated air about him. “Some of our paths are more dangerous than others. But we have to do certain things. The things that I am going to do and _not_ do might not make much sense to you, but they are for the good of Vesuvia and its people.”

            “And what about _you_?”

            Nico bit his lip and looked away. “My happiness doesn’t—”

            “That’s bullshit!” Richard raged. “You can’t keep—”

            “I can, and I will.”

            Nico and Richard stared at each other with unbreaking gazes for a while.

            Richard looked away first, “Why are you so…” He sighed and walked out of the room.

            Nico was still as Richard walked away. He remained that way for a few moments after the door closed behind Richard. He slumped and brought a hand to his face, “Where’s Pasha when you need her…”

            I wondered who this “Pasha” was as well as who Richard was to Nico. I looked at him from around my column. Maybe it would be better to leave him alone. It might be better to let him have some time on his own to think. I rolled the bottom of my shirt between my fingers. He looked so sad though like there was a giant weight on his shoulders. I hesitated for another moment before I made up my mind.

            I walked up to him quietly, “Hey.”

            He removed his hand from his eyes and gave me a smile that wobbled and fell into a sad frown.

            I sat down beside him on the bench and took his hand in my own. I studied the lines on his hands and traced them with my finger. As the silence went on, he gradually relaxed. He rested his head on my shoulder and let out a puff of air.

            “Long day?”

            He made a noise of affirmation. “Stupid people as well. I just wish…”

            I waited for him to continue.

            He stayed silent for a long time before mutter under his breath, “…but then I never would have gotten the chance to meet you…”

            I didn’t quite understand what he was talking about but I gave his hand a squeeze. I smiled at him before turning to the wooden thing in front of me. “What is this?”

            He turned his gaze away from me and lifted up a lid on the wooden object. It had shiny white and black ivory keys. “It’s called a piano.”

            I watched as he brought his fingers to the keys and started to touch them. The notes had an air of loneliness as they echoed in the empty ballroom. Nico’s gaze unfocused; his hands started to pick up speed. The tempo was fast, desperate, and seemed angry. It built into a crescendo before he just slammed his hands all over the keys in frustration. I jumped at the cacophony and looked over to see tears starting to stream down his face.

            I cradled his head in my hands in an oddly familiar way while I brushed his tears away with my thumbs. He closed his eyes as sobs wracked his chest. The tears eventually slowed and his breathing turned from sobs to a heavy sort of intake of air. “I don’t want to go…” his voice was full of sad desperation.

            I opened my mouth. I didn’t know what to say to that. No. I did know what to say. “Then stay. Stay with me.”

            His eyes locked onto mine as he brought one of my hands from his cheek to his lips where he placed a single gentle kiss to the back of it. “I have to.”

            I wanted to object, but a single finger pressed against my mouth.

            “Shh. Go to sleep, Skylar.”

            I tried to fight against the darkness but it was no use.

            “Don’t worry. I might have to go, but I won’t abandon you.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream shenanigans and Skylar spots an interesting poster while shopping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My work has me running around ragged and things will be interesting with school starting back up soon. And can I just say that the latest updates have me shook. Like, Asra, what happened to your hair? Also, Nadia needs to take it easy on me. She might be thirsty, but I am not a tall glass of water. I am a short one. And, Julian... he is too sweet for this world, but there is no way that I will let him be taken away by anyone.

I was standing near the stove with Asra taste-testing the soup he was making. I made a face, “Needs more sugar.”

            He gave me a slight smile, “It always has to be sweeter with you, doesn’t it?”

            I gently swatted his arm as he stirred with one hand and reached for the sugar with the other. “It’s not my fault that you always make everything so spicy.”

            A mischievous look entered his eyes as his mouth curled up, “Oh? I make everything so much sweeter?” His hand left the spoon to tilt my face up to face his own. His eyes burned with desire as they stared into my own.

            Heat rose to my face. My heart pounded a quick rhythm. My eyes closed.

            His lips pressed to mine. I let my mouth open into the kiss. It felt so good. So warm. Comforting. I leaned forward as he slowly pulled away. My eyes opened to look at him.

            He licked his lips, “Mmm. You’re right. It is a little bit spicy.”

            I wasn’t sure if he was talking about the soup or the kiss. I flicked his head and leaned on the counter next to the stove. My body was still tingling, and my breath was warm. “Add the sugar to the soup then.”

            He laughed and went back to tending to the soup.

            My eyes flicked to the other two in the room.

            Nico was talking animatedly to his friend. His hands waved around as he picked up drawings and tilted it to the curly red-head. The red-head picked up the paper and continued to converse with Nico with occasional eye-rolls.

            I didn’t understand a word of what they were saying. It was in some foreign language. But it sounded beautiful. The words were rolling off of their tongues as they chatted energetically. I felt my eyes drift from Nico’s lips to another pair of plump lips. I blamed Asra for the desire that surged through me. He was the one who got me excited in the first place. I looked back at Asra who was staring intently at the soup as he messed around with various spices in addition to the sugar. I would be concerned but his cooking was always phenomenal in the end. I felt my heart tighten with affection. I pushed off of the counter and approached the other duo.

            “What are you two talking about?” I questioned as I started at a drawing of squiggles that vaguely reminded me of a map or a maze.

            Nico grinned up at me and without skipping a beat exclaimed, “Brains!”

            I blinked.

            I shook my head.

            I blinked again.

            “Did you just say _brains_?”

            The two laughed at me. Their voices making a sweet harmony.

            My flush this time wasn’t just from embarrassment.

            “Yes, brains.” Nico tapped the paper.

            The familiar looking red-head spoke up, “Brains aren’t exactly dinner conversation for most people.”

            “Most people,” Nico scoffed. “Why bother trying to be normal? It’s not like any of us here are normal. Least of all you.” Nico teased.

            I covered my smile at the bright red blush matched red curls.

            “Maybe you should help Asra with the soup,” came the snappy reply. “Wait. If you helped him, the soup would be too salty for the rest of us to eat.”

            Nico raised an eyebrow, “Some people here would like that.”

            I walked away as the two erupted into a fast-paced argument in the same language they had been speaking in with the ease of close friends or family members. I paused at looked at the two. They did look similar. There was a considerable height difference, but… what was the name of our guest again? I remembered Nico had made introductions. Plus, he had said that name before. It was foreign sounding. Something from the language they were currently speaking. An endearment of sorts. Something with a p? Pasta? Paste? No… it definitely ended with an “ah” sound. It was right on the tip of my tongue.

            “Sky? Taste this.” Asra held the spoon out to me with one hand hovering beneath it to catch any drips.

            My concentration shifted. I leaned forward and took the spoon into my mouth. It was much better this time. Not nearly as horribly spicy. Perfect.

            “How is it?” Asra asked.

            Instead of answering, I took the spoon and scooped another spoonful to my mouth after blowing to it.

            His eyebrows furrowed, “Did I add enough sugar? Or should I—?” He turned back to the containers next to him.

            I grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back to me. I pressed my lips against his and when his lips parted I let a little bit of the soup pass from my mouth into his. I had a little bit of fun before I pulled away. “It’s perfect.”

            Asra was staring at me with shock.

            “Damn. That was really hot.”

            “Well, you aren’t wrong,” Nico agreed.

            “Shut up,” I told the two of them.

            Asra covered his face with his hands and cleared his throat, “Soup is ready.”

            “Oh, _we saw_ ,” Nico smirked at Asra. He quickly stacked his papers together and made quick work of getting the tableware out. The two redheads quickly set the table up.

            Dinner was a relaxed affair. There was plenty of teasing to be had. Outlandish stories. I soon found out that the two redheads had grown up together. There were plenty of stories of stupid escapades and chasing like lunatics after thieving adults. Asra teased about Devoraks always getting into trouble. We each took our turns with our childhood stories. Asra spoke of his days on the streets with Muriel. Faust came in to give Asra a snake kiss before moving around the table to squeeze all of us. We took turns teasing Faust for being so mischievous. She didn’t quite understand why we were laughing. I told the table of my younger adventures around the city—more particularly when the Masquerade was going on. I always seemed to get into some sort of trouble around that time of the year.

            “Until you met me, of course,” Asra took a sip of his drink.

            “Yeah, my trouble tripled just by meeting you, and you are always running away to travel one place or another!” I bemoaned.

            Asra coughed on his drink and started apologizing.

            Nico snickered, “You should give Skylar more of your company, Asra.”

            I turned and looked at him, “Well, you haven’t been doing too great either. You’ve been gone for how long now?”

            “Too long,” he declared. “I think that we should all get together one of these days and properly reminisce.” He raised his glass up.

            “Here, here!”

            We all toasted.

            Things started to become blurry after that. I saw Nico’s face near me with an expression of worry. His lips were moving but I couldn’t hear anything. I closed my eyes.

           

            My head jerked up from the book I had been reading. I looked around the room. I could have sworn that I had been talking to Asra a few moments ago. I rubbed at my eyes and yawned. I guessed that I had fallen asleep while he was talking. My sleep had been somewhat disturbed lately, but I couldn’t for the life of me remember what had happened to disturb me in my dreams. Asra probably thought that I needed the sleep. He probably wandered off somewhere already. He also probably forgot that we needed some food. I would have to go out and grab some things to eat.

            I almost collapsed when I stood up. I managed to cling to the furniture to prevent from smacking my face into the floor. I massaged my legs to get them to wake up before I tried to stand again. My legs still felt weak but started to feel stronger as I got ready for a trip to the vendors for food. I checked to make sure my back was with me and my money secured. I exited the shop and locked it up.

            I was still half asleep as I wandered around buying some things that we needed for living but couldn’t gather for ourselves. I exchanged small talk with a few of the people that had warmed up to me in recent months. Once I was finished getting what I needed, I wandered around admiring wares and just generally gazing at my surroundings. I read some signs of and memorized names of shops that I wanted to investigate with Asra at a later date. I passed by a wall that was full of flyers and paused for a moment.

            I turned to fully face the wall and searched for the flyer that had caught my attention. It was a drawing of a man with curly hair and an eye patch. There was something that felt familiar. I felt like I knew him from… I pressed a hand to my temple as pain surged through my head. I gritted my teeth and focused on my breathing using some of the calming exercises Asra taught me. The pain had started to die down when someone next to me spoke.

            “That poor boy…”

            I looked through squinted eyes at the man beside me that was staring at the same poster I was looking at. “Do you know him?”

            The guy looked at me with astonishment, “You aren’t from around here, are ya?” He shook his head and pointed at the flyer. “That’s good old Doctor Jules. He used to help us common folk especially when the plague started up.”

            I felt my blood run cold. The Plague. I had only heard whispers about it when I traveled with Asra. I heard more stories when Asra wasn’t around to herd me away to go buy or look something else. The Red Plague had been devastating to the city. A major part of the population had died during it. Rarely, you would see someone come down with a case these days. Everyone avoided individuals with the unique red sclera.

            The old man’s face grew bitter, “I don’t believe a word about what they say about him though!”

            “What do you mean, sir?” I inquired.

            The old man snorted, “They say that he murdered old Count Lucio. That sweet boy wouldn’t hurt a fly, and if he did… He would have a damn good reason!” The man broke off into grumbles and curses.

            An old woman called out to him, “Get yer arse over ‘ere! Those leeches aren’t going to come to us!”

            The man quickly excused himself before disappearing into the crowd with his wife.

            My eyes drifted back to the flyer. I moved a couple posters' edges to get a better look at it.

“WANTED: dead or alive. Doctor Julian Devorak.”

            I furrowed my brow at the intense face framed by a swath of curly hair to one side. My head was still throbbing slightly. I let out a sigh. It probably looked familiar because I had seen glances of it before. Still, the story sounded interesting. I would have to see if Asra could tell me anything about it tonight.

            I traveled through the streets. Nothing was too unusual. Once, I could have sworn I saw a mass of giant black cloth. It was nothing more than my imagination though. I finally reached the shop and let myself in.

            “Skylar!” Asra greeted me with a smile as he moved around with a basket. “I got us quite a harvest today! How does mushroom soup sound for tonight?”

            I relaxed as I shrugged off my bag, “Sounds good. Your mushroom soup always tastes delicious.”

            He laughed lightly. “You should have come with me today. I found all sorts of other goodies!”

            My attention focused on him, and my thoughts about asking him about who Doctor Jules was faded from my mind with every bite I took of the berries Asra fed me.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asra's actions come back to bite him in the butt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is sponsored by listening to Wait for Me from Hadestown on repeat for over 2 hours. I recommend it as background music. Also... I almost saved this as Learning to Lice ch11. Lice. Probably a sign that I need more sleep. Wasn't like just took a 3-hour nap or anything. Anyways... Things are going to become more interesting.

            I was sitting on the edge of the lake skipping stones along the surface. A black serpent was curled around me protectively. His weight was a comfort though I wasn’t sure why I needed comforting. I tossed another stone. One, two, three. I focused on the water. I tossed a stone again. One, two. Another. One, two, three, four.

            _Toss stone, why?_

I scrunched my face up, “I don’t know why.”

            _Help?_

            “I… I don’t… I don’t think…” I pursed my lips and closed my eyes.

            My eyes fluttered open to a colorless scene. The streets of Vesuvia. I reached out to people, but my hands just passed through them. I tried to speak but my voice didn’t work. I saw the baker with his pumpkin bread, but I couldn’t smell anything. My confusion was dulled along with my senses as streets passed by. A gate came and went. Across a bridge. Ornate halls whose beauty was dulled. Faces that were blurred. Intrigues that didn’t hold interest to me.

            An invisible current tugged by feet down a hall sharply. Two dogs perked up and growled at me. I didn’t feel any fear as they lunged at me trying to rip me to pieces. They landed on the floor in a comical manner that I felt I should laugh at, but I felt nothing. The current tugged me sharply. I faced forward and started climbing up the stairs. A hall full of portraits. An elegantly decorated room. I paused in the room with a massive bed. There was nowhere to go next.

            There was another sharp tug, and I turned to the massive portrait hung in the room of a man. My feet walked to it. I frowned as I walked to the walk behind the portrait. I didn’t hesitate is I passed through the painting into a hidden hallway. I continued along until I reached an elegantly designed room. There was a table full of a feast that didn’t interest me. My eyes roamed over the guests at the table. I didn’t care about their faces. I didn’t care about their existence. I didn’t care. I didn’t exist. Why should I care? Why should I think?

            My eyes zoomed in on a familiar face. It was Asra. He was staring at me with some sort of hope. I blinked and let my gaze move on. There was nothing I could do for him anymore. My gaze drifted to the next person when the feeling of ice water crashed over my senses.

            **“Ah~! It is a pleasure to meet you, Skylar.”**

My eyes snapped to the head of the table.

            A giant white and black humanoid goat grinned at me with sharp teeth. Red eyes gleamed with hunger.

            Fear snatched at my heart. I tried to back up, but my legs wouldn’t move. Emotions crashed into me as I panicked. Reason fled. Run. I needed to run. I was terrified.

            **“You don’t look like much. Nothing to cause so much trouble for so many to make a deal with me about you.”**

            Somehow the goat’s grin grew wider and bigger.

            I whimpered.

            **“But I know that appearances can be deceiving.”**

            One long clawed finger beckoned me closer.

            **“Let me take a closer look at you.”**

A scream bubbled in my chest as my feet moved. One step. Another. Run. Away. But my feet moved forward still. Tears ran down my face. Help. Help me. Someone help me. My breath was rapid. I was next to the goat now.

            He reached out his hand to my face.

            **“Try to cooperate, child.”**

My body was rigid in a silent scream.

            _Don’t you dare touch him!_

Dark smoke burst from behind me to cover me protectively and yank me away from the Devil.

 

            Tears were still streaming down my face as I clutched the crumbled pieces of a rock in my hand. I rocked back and forth. Red tinged my vision. Fear clung to my skin hungrily.

            A reassuring weight causes my eyes to shift watery focus to see a lake. I wasn’t in that horrid room. I was away. My breath caught in my chest. A whine squirmed out of my throat. My mouth caught the sound after a moment. A brief moment of quiet. A bubble of hair moved in my throat. I screamed. I clawed at myself and the ground. Howled. Thrashed.

            Shades of people swarmed to me while others rushed away clutching their ears. The ground held no substance for me. My heart was trying to rip its way out of my chest. I snarled in pain. Red flooded my vision.

            Red.

            Nothing but red.

            Heat.

            Red and heat.

            As it receded, I feared that I would be back in that room with…

            I gagged on nothing.

            Something touched my face, and I reared back.

            Eyes blinking quickly.

            No.

            Please.

            No.

            The red faded away.

            _Safe._

A black cobra flicked his tongue at me in concern. He leaned forward and continued to give me reassuring little snake kisses.

            A rumbled man came into my vision. Out of breath, his eyes were wild before they landed on me. His posture relaxed somewhat. And he raised a strange, shaking hand to his face.

            “Thank you, Mephistopheles. For being there when I wasn’t.” The man’s voice was strained.

            _It’s fine. I like this one. He is of a good heart._

Mephistopheles gave me a light squeeze before slithering up to drape himself over my neck.

            The man dropped his hand and gave me a pinched grin, “How are you, Sky?”

            I blinked at the man swathed in black leather. “Who are you?”

            His face froze. He turned slowly to Mephistopheles. “I thought you said you reached him before that thrice-damned motherfucking goat was able to touch him.”

            _I did! I pulled him back before a single claw was laid on him!_

I frowned.

            A small smile appeared on the stranger’s face, “If you don’t mind, I would like to check something.” The man’s words were polite, but his eyes. There was something dangerous in his eyes.

            I stiffened but didn’t move as he approached me.

            “I’ll be gentle.” His words seemed warmer as he reached out a hand to my face. His hand was—

            I clutched at my chest as pain tore its way through my body like a thousand hot needle points pulling the flesh from my body with slow agony. Suddenly, the pain started to subside. I let out a gasp as my vision reaffirmed itself. I looked up at the man and suddenly wished that my vision hadn’t returned.

            The man’s eyes were wild and utter loathing leaked from his mouth, **“Asra, you fucking bastard.”**

            I wanted to say something to defend Asra, but my body felt heavy. Like I was being pulled down. Dragged to…

 

            “Wha—?” I rubbed drool from my mouth.

            “Are you okay?” Asra’s face was right in front of mine. “It looked like you were having a nightmare.”

            The fog cleared from my head. I frowned and tried to remember what I had been dreaming. “I’m okay. I feel like I had a… strange dream. But I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me, Asra.”

            He huffed but apprehension still clung to him, “One of us has to.” His eyes moved from mine down to my mouth. A smile tugged at his lips as he slowly reached a hand out and wiped near my mouth, “You missed some drool.”

            I stared at him for a moment before I casually reached my hand to my side and whacked him thoroughly with a pillow. My face was heated up as I thumped him with a pillow.

            He burst out in laughter as he clamored to grab another pillow.

            The pillow fight was short but intense; finally, we both collapsed onto the bed. Our chests rose and fell as we looked at each other with matching wide grins.

            I flicked his arm with a finger and shoved my pillow under my head. “Jerk. You could have just subtly gestured that I still had drool on my face. You didn’t have to wipe it off and tell me. That’s just gross.”

            He laughed before giving me a coy look, “Maybe you should learn to stop drooling in your sleep.”

            I made a rude gesture at him.

            He laughed even more.

            I looked fondly at his soft features. A smile broke onto my face.

            Asra finally settled down and looked at me, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

            I shook my head, “I’m fine, Asra. Just go to sleep.”

            He raised an eyebrow, “Go to sleep you say?”

            I closed my eyes. “Yeah. That pillow fight really took it out of me.”

            There was a moment of silence before Asra started shifting around on the bed, settling back down to sleep. “Have a peaceful rest of your sleep, Sky.”

            I hummed in acknowledgment.

 

            I tried to go to sleep. I really did, but I still felt restless. Like the sudden burst of activity had helped to cement my wakefulness. I let out a sigh and looked over at Asra.

            His lips were parted slightly as he breathed slowly. It should be impossible that his soft features became even more so when he was sleeping. My heart warmed. He was so sweet and precious. Helping me when I had no one else. He was always by my side, caring and attentive. Telling jokes and stories. Teaching me more about magic. The look on his face whenever I did something with magic was…

            Fuck.

            I stilled. I loved him. Somehow, somewhere, I had fallen in love with Asra.

            My heart clenched painfully. He didn’t feel the same way. I was just his apprentice. He was my master. We had a strictly professional relationship. Possibly stretched to platonic. There was no way…

            I bit my lip and looked away from his face. I felt guilty looking at him in that way when he wouldn’t return my feelings. I curled to my side away from him. My shoulders slumped. Any tears that might have graced my pillow that night dried up before morning.


End file.
